ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Eric Go Yap justified his quick offer of a P100,000 bounty for the arrest of the suspects in the death of flight attendant Christine Angela Dacera as he admitted Friday that the reward is now "off the table."
"As part of the call #JusticeForChristineDacera, we announced the bounty with the purpose to summon those involved to come out and cooperate in solving the case," Yap, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement.
"It is important to note that the bounty was placed as soon as the news came out, when most of the individuals who were with Christine that night were nowhere to be found," he said.
The 23-year-old Dacera was found unconcious in the bathtub of her rented hotel room in Makati City on New Year's Day. She was taken to a hospital but was pronounced dead.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) initially branded the case as a rape-slay, as reports began to surface that Dacera partied with at least two groups of people the previous night. This triggered a lot of emotional reactions on social media.
The Makati Medical Center later said that the young lady died due to a ruptured aortic aneurysm.
Yap was among the first solons to react to the shocking death, and after hearing initial information from PNP, offered the P100,000 bounty for the capture of suspects.
On the current status of the bounty, Yap said: "We suppose that there is no need to recall per se the bounty placed on the persons of interest in the death of Christine Angela Dacera. In principle, the bounty is now considered as moot and now off the table as they have already voluntarily presented themselves and now cooperating in the investigation."
"The fact that there is one person who died, regardless of what transpired that night, is enough to conduct an investigation to discern the truth. Together with the family and friends of Christine, we will continue until justice is served."